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Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
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Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
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Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
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UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
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Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
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Opinion Articles

How the iPad changed business within a year

Mark Bridge writes:

Even the most cynical observer needs to admit that the Apple iPad is changing business. Cynics can argue that the world of work may not be changed permanently - and it may not be changed for good - but the way we work is definitely changing.

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This week at The Fonecast: 28th May 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s often said that timing is everything. Or is it size?  I’m never sure.

Both came into play this week as online giant Google announced the forthcoming launch of its much-rumoured mobile payment service. Expect Google Wallet to arrive on the Nexus S 4G in the USA this summer.

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Wireless backhaul interview with Gaby Junowicz of Siklu Communication

Mark Bridge writes:

Some parts of the mobile industry have more glamour than others. New handsets often attract celebrity endorsements, while behind-the-scenes technology rarely hits the mainstream headlines unless it goes wrong.

One of the areas most under pressure at the moment is 'backhaul'; essentially the connection between a cell site and the rest of the mobile network.

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Are Microsoft and Skype on their way to world domination?

Mark Bridge writes:

The TV in the bedroom switches on. "It's 6.45am. Good morning, Mark. Here are your news headlines for Tuesday 14th June 2016."

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Yahoo! and Ovi, Nokia and Microsoft

Mark Bridge writes:

With all the excitement about the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, it's easy to forget another partnership between a major online brand and the Finnish mobile giant.

Exactly a year ago, Yahoo! and Nokia announced a worldwide strategic alliance that would see Nokia providing Yahoo!'s maps and navigation services under the Ovi brand, while Yahoo! would power Nokia's Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services. The two companies would also work on sharing log-in details across Yahoo! and Ovi services.

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Thursday, December 3, 2020

UK and Europe push for customer 'right to repair'

Top companies criticised for "dodging their environmental responsibilities"

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), one of the Parliamentary Select Committees in the UK House of Commons, has published a report on Electronic Waste and the Circular Economy. It says the UK is "lagging behind other nations in embedding a circular economy of use, reuse and recycle for small electronics".

Amazon and other major online retailers were criticised for not collecting or recycling electronics in the way 'bricks and mortar' businesses are obliged to. It's called on web-based marketplaces to collect and recycle products at no cost to the consumer.

In addition, the EAC says "Tech companies such as Apple have been found to glue and solder together internal components making any repair nearly impossible". It recommends that a 'right to repair' is enshrined in UK law, with VAT reduced for repair services.

The Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said "For too long companies like Amazon and Apple have been dodging their environmental responsibilities for the products they sell. Too many devices sold and made by these companies have a limited, and sometimes decreasing, lifespan and end up in bins, eventually going to landfill or incineration. There is no chance of precious metals being retrieved, which could quickly become a huge problem as the rare and disappearing materials are crucial for renewable energy such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric car batteries. Repairing and recycling must become commonplace for electronics."

In a separate development, the European Parliament has voted to boost environmental sustainability by promoting reuse and repairs. It also wants consumers to have a 'right to repair', wants more support for the second-hand market and has reiterated its ongoing desire to see a universal charger system implemented by rechargeable devices. As well as promoting repair and recycling, it says consumers should be told the estimated lifespan of a product when they buy it.
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